5 ways, 26 sources
Five ways to get paid — ranked for what you own.
Priced from what buyers pay today; each runs on something you already own:
the bench, the camera, the hosting account, the agent on the VPS.
At a glance
-
1Office IT on retainer
$1,000–$3,000 / mo at 90 days
Seats $100–$400/user/mo [1], published from $65–$99 [2] · first dollar 3–6 wks
-
2AI phone service — missed-call text-back + receptionist
$400–$1,500 / mo at 90 days
Retail $79–$297/mo [3][4], wholesale $99 [5] · first dollar 1–2 wks
-
3Business break/fix and on-site repair
$1,500–$4,000 / mo at 90 days
$95–$185/hr bench→on-site [6], $199–$219 to business [2] · first dollar in days
-
4Listing and product photography
$800–$2,500 / mo at 90 days
Sets $149–$210 [7][8], $25–$70/image [9] · first dollar 1–3 wks
-
5Website + Google profile care plan
$1,000–$3,000 / mo at 90 days
Builds $500–$8,000 [10], care $300–$3,000/mo [11] · first dollar 2–6 wks
Prices checked 11 Oct 2026 — a pricing guide, not a promise of sales. Market:
41,733 private establishments in Pinellas County, Q1 2026 [12].
“At 90 days” is arithmetic, not a source: one five-seat retainer; 8–10
phone clients; ~a dozen business tickets a month; 4–6 shoots; one build + three
care plans. The rates are the sourced part.
The five, in detail
1Office IT on retainer
- The offer
- Monthly per-seat plan for small offices: patch, backup checks, one number to
call. Bundled with #2's phone, nobody local sells both.
- The money
- Five seats = $495–$1,250/mo, more with compliance. Seats sell at
$100–$400/user/mo [1]; firms publish $65–$99/seat and $199/hr remote
[2]. MSPs bill techs $55–$95/hr [13]. Compliance buyers pay flat per
practice: $399 incl. unlimited remote help desk [14], $1,500/$2,500/$4,000 by
workstation count [15].
- Why you
- Thirty years of repair, LAN, Windows, Linux. Offices buy response time,
not certificates.
- Cost to start
- Tools you own; monitoring on free tiers — $0–$100/mo until client three.
- First step
- Twenty offices within ten miles. $199 audit, written report; quote the retainer
from it.
- Watch out
- HIPAA for medical/dental — document or stay out. 62 Clearwater repair
businesses, 85% single-owner [16]; almost none sell retainers. Don't win on
price.
2AI phone service for local businesses
- The offer
- Missed call → instant text back; AI receptionist answers, qualifies, books.
Setup, then monthly.
- The money
- Retail: $79/mo text-back [3], $149–$249 wider scope [4], $109
receptionist [18], packages $197–$497 [17]. Wholesale: $99/mo = three
clients [5] or six sub-accounts [17]; vendor's example:
$1,782 client revenue vs the $99 fee [17]. Usage metered: ~$0.12/min
voice, $0.02/SMS [5] — price above your minutes. Own stack: ten clients =
$1,000–$1,500/mo. Upsell: advice $100–$350/hr, one workflow
$2,500–$15,000 [19].
- Why you
- You own the VPS and agent; build or resell. Demo fits in one hand — call,
let it miss, watch the text land.
- Cost to start
- $0 on the VPS; $99–$300/mo resold. Real cost: carrier paperwork for
business texting — start day one.
- First step
- Live demo number this week; then twenty service businesses, seven days free.
- Why it multiplies
- Sell through the trade: the 62 Clearwater shops [16] each hold a client
list needing phones answered. Three reselling = thirty accounts you never dial.
- Watch out
- Subscription, not a project — stops answering, client cancels. Monitor it.
3Business break/fix and on-site repair
- The offer
- The trade you do, billed to businesses: flat-rate tickets, business-rate
on-site, same-day.
- The money
- Bench $95–$135/hr, on-site $135–$185 [6]; consumer $45–$90
[20] — the gap is why you quote offices. One firm publishes $199/hr
remote, $219 on-site [2]. Modelled solo shop: $95/hr over a $125 ticket [21].
- Why you
- Fastest first dollar; every job doubles as an audit and a pitch for #1/#2 —
leave a written note.
- Cost to start
- Zero, tools exist. A shop would cost $4,000–$12,000 [22] — stay mobile.
- First step
- One-page rate card, Google Business Profile, ten offices visited with the menu.
- Watch out
- 62 shops in Clearwater [16]. Win on response time, fixed prices, billing a
company — not cheapest hourly.
4Listing and product photography
- The offer
- Listing sets (photos, edits, drone) plus product shots for sellers.
- The money
- Tampa sets from $149 [7]; one studio: $150–$210 by photo count, edited
inside 24h [8]; drone $150 [7]. Product: $25–$70/image, $40–$60 US
[9]; $150–$400/hr, day rates $500–$3,000 [9][23].
- Why you
- Gear and thirty years in the house; the sellers you shoot need a site (#5) and a
phone (#2).
- Cost to start
- Nothing if gear exists; drone needs LAANC care around TPA [7].
- First step
- Three free shoots for realtors; six best frames on one page with prices.
- Watch out
- Product = turnaround — MLS-ready in 24h [8]. Price per property, never per
photo.
5Website and Google profile care plan
- The offer
- Small site + monthly care plan: hosting, edits, profile posts, review requests.
- The money
- Builds $500–$8,000 [10]. Profile work $800/mo, profile-only $99–$399
[24]; local retainers $300–$3,000+/mo [11]. Build once, bill for years.
- Why you
- You already run hosting and cPanel — this page shipped that way in a day.
- Cost to start
- Hosting paid for; last client's template.
- First step
- One vertical. Build the demo, sell it three times before designing anything new.
- Watch out
- Never sell “SEO” as outcome. Fixed scope, monthly number, delivery
list, cancellation date.
What one office is worth
#1+#2 rank first. One five-seat office: seats $99–$200 = $495–$1,000/mo;
+ phone $149 = $644–$1,149. Delivery cost: $99 platform + metered minutes
[5][17]. Two offices = $1,300–$2,300/mo recurring — before one repair
ticket (#3), which is how you get in the door.
Arithmetic on cited rates, not a quote. Shape: seats × heads + phone
fee − metered platform.
Not this, and why
- Marketplace video — Upwork $6–$25/hr [25]. Wrong rate for thirty
years of skill.
- Promo gigs — NYC ambassadors $21.47–$25.93/hr [26]. Filler cash;
never compounds.
- eBay refurb — your decade says thin margins. Inventory cash flow, not the
plan.
First 30 days
- Days 1–3. Rate card, Google Business Profile, live demo phone number.
- Days 4–10. Twenty doors: offices for IT, service businesses for phones,
realtors for photos.
- Days 11–20. First paid ticket, first photo set, first 7-day trial.
- Days 21–30. Convert one retainer; repeat the twenty doors.
Under $1,500/mo: #2+#3 alone. Past $5,000: only recurring lines (#1, #5); #3/#4 become
the help's work.